Ear damage caused by leisure noise.

Noise is a health risk. Recent findings suggest that leisure noise is a substantial danger especially to children, teenagers and young adults. Epidemiological studies of teenagers with no occupational noise exposure show an increasing number with a substantial and measurable irreversible inner ear damage. This is basically due to the wide spread exposition to very loud toys (pistols and squibs), crackers and exposure to electronically amplified music, e.g. from personal cassette players (PCP), at discos or concerts etc. Protection against irreversible ear damage by leisure noise has an important impact in preventive medical care. Therefore the general public must be informed that loud leisure activities may cause damage to the ear. In order to protect children, young people and adults, the legislature ought to set limits for sound levels in discos, concert halls and for music equipment and toys by establishing the necessary standards and regulations.

[Hearing loss caused by leisure noise]. / Gehörschäden durch Freizeitlärm.

Although noise in general can induce hearing loss, environmental noise represents an important risk for children, teenagers and young adults. Epidemiological investigations now support the occurrence of an increasing number of irreversible hearing losses in these groups. Major causes of hearing loss are toys (guns), explosives and electroacoustically amplified music delivered by head sets or heard in discotheques and open air concerts. Clinical indications are discussed.

[Acoustic implications of the use of air technology designs in the hospital--a case report and its consequences]. / Akustische Implikationen des Einsatzes Raumlufttechnischer Anlagen im Krankenhaus--ein Fallbericht und seine Konsequenzen.

An undesirable side-effect of the operation of air conditioners in the hospital are acoustic emissions which can propagate as structure-borne noise or airborne noise in sick-rooms and function rooms. Despite useful information provided in DIN 1946 as well as in other relevant documents and legal statutes on restricting the acoustic emissions caused by air conditioning equipment, substantial noise phenomena are sometimes experienced in practice because of negligence in project engineering, installing and acceptance procedures. The air conditioning system of an ophthalmic hospital, exposing several rooms accommodating tumour patients of a Clinic of Radiology to substantial noise was studied to outline the problems involved in thresholds and indicative figures of noise comprising an essential low-frequency share as well as their particular annoying effects. It is recommended that the hospital hygienist should require the manufacturer and the fitter of an air conditioning system to present a special noise control certificate. The results of the investigation presented also serve to discuss hospital-specific and subject-related factors which can moderate the noise sensation of patients in threshold-relevant terms.

[Patient-related color preference and color design in the hospital]. / Patientenbezogene Farbpräferenz und Farbgestaltung im Krankenhaus.

Colour-physiological studies involving volunteers and colour-psychological interviewing of patients with varied diagnoses revealed that, currently, no compelling scientific reasons can be given for coloration in the hospital. Interviewing 68 patients from a number of clinics on the coloration of sick-rooms yielded the following preferred colours, irrespective of the patients' classing into groups by various criteria: Light colours were consistently preferred for all objects such as ceiling, walls, floor, curtains, furniture, and bed linen. It should be emphasized that even white was a desirable colour for ceilings and bed linen. Beige was found to rank first for walls, floors, curtains, and furniture, whereas the colours of wood and grey shared the second rank for floors and furniture. Green and pink ranked second for bed linen. White and green ranked second for walls and curtains, respectively. In view of the heterogeneity, the findings may not be converted into an absolute just as the recommendations by other workers. Still, the patients' wish should be given priority over decreed recommendations by experts when basic considerations of illumination (reflectance!) are allowed for in the particular overall colour design project.

[Pesticides as chemical indoor pollution and persistence in the hospital as an example in long term and short term studies]. / Pestizide als chemische Indoor-Pollution und Altlast im Krankenhaus im Spiegel von Lang- und Kurzzeituntersuchungen.

It is because of combined hygienic, ecological, commercial and psychological aspects that controlling public health pests in the hospital becomes a complex problem area in which dubious practices and philosophies have had a tradition for decades. These include harmlessness assumptions considered as a carte blanche, ignoring the biological peculiarities of the species controlled, payment for consumption of chemicals or area controlled rather than for efficiency of control, and a contract policy between the pest control contractor and the hospital governed by a profit-oriented control frequency rather than by the actual infestation. Thus, the hospital environment has often experienced an unnecessarily high exposure to toxic and, in part, persistent substances which can adversely affect the chemical indoor situation in acute terms or on a long-term basis, and may give rise to sustained problems. Exposure and residues were determined to provide evidence of the acute risk to health after control measures using dichlorvos, as well as long persisting exposure as typically demonstrated for DDT. The conclusions drawn so as to minimise the risk of indoor pest control in the hospital are presented.

Experience with urban traffic noise maps in Czechoslovakia and German Democratic Republic.

Noise mapping represents one of the valuable working tools in the implementation of communal noise abatement programs. Over the years 1965-1979 the communal noise conditions were mapped in several tens of towns, both in Czechoslovakia and GDR. In Czechoslovakia, noise mapping is based on standardized methodology of noise level measurement and on methodical guidelines for noise map construction; in GDR, unified basis is represented by provisions in execution of the law on environmental protection. The noise map data have led in many cases to revision of existing town development and transportation plans, to more accurate delimitation of urban zones, to establishment of noise-free zones, to prohibition of night-time traffic, and to acceptance of anti-noise measures at stable sources of communal noise. Decisive for the effective use of urban noise maps is, as a rule, the quality of accompanying written statement, the extent of cooperation with town planning and local government authorities, and whether the map had been produced in order to accomplish a clearly specified objective. However, it will take undoubtedly much more time to assess definitively the usefulness of noise mapping as a methodical tool in the control of community noise.